October 20, 2011: Some News That Matters

Ft.com
Silvio Berlusconi is expected to end months of speculation and procrastination on Thursday by nominating Lorenzo Bini Smaghi as his choice to replace Mario Draghi as governor of the Bank of Italy, reports the FT.

Brazil’s central bank cut interest rates on Wednesday as Latin America’s economy showed signs of slowing from last year’s breakneck growth rates. The central bank reduced the benchmark Selic interest rate by 50 basis points to 11.5 per cent, the second such cut in six weeks, doubling its bet that a weaker economy will quell persistently high inflation. “They have communicated extensively that they feel validated on the first move – the economy is really decelerating, the global economy is still uninspiring,” said Alberto Ramos, economist with Goldman Sachs. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/34c723b4-fa9f-11e0-8fe7-00144feab49a.html#axzz1bIJzFnrd

Wsj.com
Banks cut their international lending to each other during the second quarter, and in particular to lenders in the U.K. and the U.S., according to a report by the Bank for International Settlements. The BIS report released on Wednesday said total cross-border lending fell $185 billion, or 0.6%, in the three months to the end of June, to $35.6 trillion, compared with the first quarter. Cross-border lending rose $634 billion in the first quarter. Banks withdrew from international lending in the wake of the financial crisis, often repatriating foreign assets to compensate for losses taken at home. For the last year, lending has followed an uneven pattern. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204618704576640764004836574.html?mod=WSJEUROPE_hpp_LEFTTopWhatNews

The reeling housing market has come to this: To shore it up, two Senators are preparing to introduce a bipartisan bill Thursday that would give residence visas to foreigners who spend at least $500,000 to buy houses in the U.S. The provision is part of a larger package of immigration measures, co-authored by Sens. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) and Mike Lee (R., Utah), designed to spur more foreign investment in the U.S. Foreigners have accounted for a growing share of home purchases in South Florida, Southern California, Arizona and other hard-hit markets. Chinese and Canadian buyers, among others, are taking advantage not only of big declines in U.S. home prices and reduced competition from Americans but also of favourable foreign exchange rates.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203752604576641421449460968.html?mod=WSJAsia_hpp_LEFTTopStories

Vietnam’s gross domestic product is expected to expand 6% this year, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said Thursday, with a target for 2012 of 6% to 6.5%. Mr. Dung, speaking at the opening session of a biannual meeting of the National Assembly, the country’s lawmaking body, said the consumer price index is expected to rise 18% this year. The government’s goal is to cap inflation at 10% in 2012 and 5% to 7% in 2015, he added. Mr. Dung said this year’s budget deficit will be 4.9% of GDP, compared with an initial target of 5.3%.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204618704576642043251133236.html?mod=WSJASIA_hpp_LEFTTopWhatNews

Global banks are pushing new ways to lend the more than $95 billion worth of yuan-denominated deposits that are largely idling in Hong Kong, illustrating a significant barrier to giving the Chinese currency a greater international role. While trade-related lending has jumped, bankers are working to make yuan-denominated loans in other areas as a way to put their holdings to more profitable use. Their pitch to borrowers: Yuan-denominated loans offer rates competitive with loans in other currencies and potentially lower than what companies would pay if they issue “dim sum bonds,” or bonds denominated in yuan. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203752604576640570319274678.html?mod=WSJASIA_hpp_LEFTTopWhatNews

Most Asian stock markets dropped on Thursday amid concerns over Europe’s ability to come up with a credible fix to the euro-zone debt crisis, with exporters losing ground in Tokyo. Wall Street’s fall on Wednesday and a gloomy assessment of the U.S. economy from the Federal Reserve added to the subdued regional mood. Copper prices were down over 2.0%. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average dropped 0.7%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.4%, South Korea’s Kospi Composite added 0.3% and New Zealand’s NZX-50 fell http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204485304576641871321795038.html?mod=WSJEUROPE_hpp_LEFTTopWhatNews

Doubts grew about the effectiveness of a key proposal for stemming Europe’s deepening debt crisis as it emerged that officials have ruled out a plan for the euro-zone’s bailout fund to directly guarantee bond issues. Instead, European officials are discussing a scenario in which governments issuing bonds would borrow from the bailout fund to guarantee a portion of the bond issues—a move that would increase debts for already troubled economies. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204618704576640931430745712.html?mod=WSJEurope_hpp_LEFTTopStories

Under pressure to revive UBS AG’s fortunes and help the firm recover from a rogue-trading scandal, the Swiss bank’s interim chief is preparing to shrink its once high-flying investment-banking unit. Sergio P. Ermotti, who has been at the helm for less than a month, has ruled out a sale or spinoff of the investment bank but has decided to significantly reduce its scope and size in order to bolster UBS’s focus on its giant wealth management business, according to people familiar with his thinking. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203752604576641282675814202.html?mod=WSJEurope_hpp_LEFTTopStories

The new head of BMW AG’s North American arm said he expects luxury-car sales in the U.S. will grow next year, driven by the launch of its own new 3-series models and fresh vehicles from rivals. “New products from all the competitors…will drive the market,” Ludwig Willisch said in an interview Wednesday. Luxury-car sales should grow faster than overall U.S. auto sales in 2012, Mr. Willisch said. BMW forecasts U.S. light vehicle sales of about 12 million cars and trucks, he said. That’s a conservative forecast, and reflects the caution among auto makers about the speed ofhttp://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204485304576641541840966356.html?mod=WSJEUROPE_hpp_LEFTTopWhatNews

Marketwatch.com
The U.S. economy continues along about the same modest pace as seen in August, according to a report Wednesday summarizing information from contacts used by the Federal Reserve to measure the strength of the economy. The economy was expanding, although many areas described the pace of growth as “modest” or “slight.” “Contacts generally noted weaker or less certain outlooks for business conditions,” the report said. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/economy-proceeding-at-modest-pace-beige-book-2011-10-19-1416460

Consumer prices rose again in September as Americans paid more for gasoline and a wide variety of groceries, the government reported Wednesday. The labour Department said the consumer price index rose a seasonally adjusted 0.3% last month, pushing the increase over the past 12 months up to 3.9% from 3.8% in August. The spike in consumer prices over the past year means millions of Americans who receive Social Security and other federal benefits will get a 3.6% increase in 2012, based on how the government calculates payments. It will be the first increase in three years. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-consumer-prices-up-03-in-september-2011-10-19

Australia isn’t immune from concerns about funding-market stresses, and the recent hike in Australian bank CDS premiums likely reflects generalized concerns about the global banking system, Reserve Bank of Australia Assistant Gov. Guy Debelle said Wednesday in a speech. Australian banks source a proportion of their funding from the offshore funding markets, even though they have been working hard to decrease that figure. Since August, concerns have risen that Europe will fail to contain its sovereign-debt problems, leading to another near-meltdown of the global financial system. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/australia-pricing-in-higher-bank-default-risk-2011-10-19

Reuters.com
Gold prices fell 1 per cent on Thursday, on course for a fourth consecutive session of losses, as worries about whether Europe will achieve a cure for its debt crisis spooked investors. Spot gold fell as much as 1 per cent to a two-week low of $1,624.39 an ounce, before recovering slightly to $1,629.11. U.S. gold dropped 1 per cent to $1,629.90, on course for its fourth day of decline.http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/20/us-markets-precious-idUSTRE78M11C20111020

Plans to tackle the euro zone debt crisis have stalled with Paris and Berlin at odds over how to increase the firepower of the region’s bailout fund, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Wednesday. Sarkozy told French lawmakers the dispute was holding up negotiations and flew to Frankfurt to talk with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in an attempt to break the deadlock ahead of a make-or-break European leaders’ summit on Sunday. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/20/us-eurozone-idUSTRE79I0IC20111020

Angry protesters vowed to bring Greece to a standstill on the second day of a general strike on Thursday while disgruntled lawmakers vote on the details of a deeply unpopular austerity package needed to stave off bankruptcy. Parliament is expected to give a final green light late in the day to the belt-tightening plan required by the EU and the IMF, after backing it in principle in a first reading on Wednesday despite the country’s biggest labour action in years. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/19/us-greece-idUSTRE79H1FI20111019

The head of the World Bank on Wednesday warned there was not a lot of room for error as European leaders scramble to agree on increasing the size of a bailout fund before a key October 23 summit on the region’s debt crisis. France and Germany have pledged to come up with a convincing plan in time for the Brussels summit on Sunday that would rein in the debt crisis that has been weighing on the world economy. “I believe this can come together and I believe that since our annual meeting in September, the Europeans have been much more … focused about this issue, but I also believe there’s not a lot of room for error,” World Bank President Robert Zoellick told reporters after an event at the University of Michigan. “If the Europeans set some definite steps that don’t stretch too much in the future, markets will react actually well to that,” he added. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/20/us-worldbank-zoellick-idUSTRE79I87A20111020

The U.S. commercial real estate market has slowed in the past three months as the sputtering economy and a pullback in debt financing limited deals, cooling a recovery from Washington to California. A total of $49.8 billion of commercial property changed hands in the third quarter, down from $58.5 billion in the previous three months, according to preliminary data from Real Capital Analytics Inc., which publishes its final numbers today. The 15 per cent decline is the second-biggest since the first quarter of 2009, the real estate research firm’s data show. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-20/commercial-real-estate-deals-decline-in-cooling-of-u-s-property-rebound.html

China‘s banking regulator sought to ease concerns about the health of the nation’s lenders and the informal lending market, vowing to control risks and stressing measures already taken by the government are showing results. Ratings companies and investment analysts have “underestimated” the nation’s determination and ability to carry out reforms, and are “talking down” the nation’s economy and banking industry, Chairman Liu Mingkang said, according to a transcript of a speech he gave that was posted on the website of the China Banking Regulatory Commission. The regulator is paying “great attention,” Liu said. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-19/china-will-strictly-control-shadow-banking-risks-liu-says-1-.html

Cnbc.com
Think life is not as good as it used to be, at least in terms of your wallet? You’d be right about that. The standard of living for Americans has fallen longer and more steeply over the past three years than at any time since the US government began recording it five decades ago. Bottom line: The average individual now has $1,315 less in disposable income than he or she did three years ago at the onset of the Great Recession – even though the recession ended, technically speaking, in mid-2009. That means less money to spend at the spa or the movies, less for vacations, new carpeting for the house, or dinner at a restaurant. http://www.cnbc.com/id/44962589

China’s gross domestic product growth slowed to 9.1 per cent in the last quarter, its slowest pace in two years. But one fund manager says the moderating pace is exactly what the Chinese government wants and he remains bullish on the country’s stocks. “The slowdown is totally manufactured, the Chinese government has been angling for this for several years now,” Aaron Boesky, CEO of Marco Polo Pure Asset Management, told CNBC on Thursday. “It’s amazing how well the Chinese, the People’s Bank of China and the Chinese central government have done, achieving their goals that they’ve set out.”http://www.cnbc.com/id/44969376

Nytimes.com
Inflation took a bigger bite out of consumers’ wallets over the last 12 months, with September marking the biggest rise in three years. But at the same time, monthly price increases are starting to slow. The Consumer Price Index, the government’s key measure of inflation at the retail level, jumped 3.9% in September from the year before. Higher food and energy prices again were the biggest culprits, with food 4.7% more expensive than a year earlier, and energy prices jumping 19.3%. http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/19/news/economy/inflation_cpi/index.htm?iid=SF_BN_River

Dailyfinance.com
Most Sub-Saharan countries made doing business easier over the past year, but the African region is still the costliest and most complex in the world for entrepreneurs, the World Bank said in a report Thursday. In its annual ranking of 183 countries, the bank found 36 of 46 Sub-Saharan African nations improved their business environment in the year through June 2011, the highest number since the study began nine years ago. The world’s top five countries for doing business were unchanged from last year — Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand, the U.S. and Denmark. http://srph.it/nNEYk0

Foxbusiness.com
Ballooning prices and painfully high unemployment have created a miserable economic reality for many Americans — the worst in more than 28 years, according to one gauge. The “misery index,” an informal measure derived by adding the national unemployment rate to the year-over-year change in consumer prices, rose to 13 in September from 12.9 in August. That reading compares with 10.7 in the same period last year when the unemployment rate weighed in at 9.6%, higher than the September reading of 9.1%, but inflation was a more modest 1.1%. While the index is certainly elevated, it doesn’t come close to matching the levels it hit during President Jimmy Carter’s term in the 1980s. http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/10/19/misery-index-hits-28-year-high/#ixzz1bIPatFqL

BBC.co.uk
Russia has signed a free-trade deal with seven other former Soviet republics that will scrap export and import tariffs on a number of goods. The agreement was announced following talks in St Petersburg. The other signature countries are Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Tajikistan. No details have yet been revealed about what goods will be included. Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan may join by the end of the year. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15363770

Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to show 5% growth in 2011, according to the International Monetary Fund’s latest regional report. Its outlook for next year is even brighter, with 6% average growth. However, the IMF’s Africa director, Antoinette Sayeh, warned of the impact of global financial volatility on the region. She told the BBC it could mean “lower exports, inward investment flows and decreasing aid levels”. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15366045

Telegraph.co.uk
Britain’s faltering economy could slip back into recession but government action to boost growth is likely to help the country avoid another downturn, Business Secretary Vince Cable said on Wednesday night. Asked if he could promise that Britain would not experience a double-dip recession, Cable said: “I can’t do that. We know conditions are very difficult but the government is doing the best it can to protect people.” The economy has barely grown over the last year, inflation is at a three-year high and households are feeling the pain from rising unemployment and weak wage growth. Prime Minister David Cameron’s coalition Government is under mounting pressure to do more to stimulate the economy to avoid a return to recession. The last downturn ended in the second quarter of 2009. The government’s options are limited by its commitment to cut a budget that peaked at around 11pc of gross domestic product. It is cutting public spending and raising taxes to try to balance the books. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/8837661/UK-could-slip-back-into-recession-admits-Business-Secretary-Vince-Cable.html

The Bank of England has warned that growth is likely to flat-line in the final three months of the year as it explained the unanimous decision by its nine rate-setters to inject another £75bn into the economy. Minutes from this month’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held on October 5 and 6 showed that all nine members of the committee were in favour of restarting the asset purchasing program, because the case for acting “quickly and decisively” was compelling. The minutes also showed that “the available indicators suggested that the underlying rate of growth had moderated and would be close to zero in the fourth quarter”. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/8837480/Bank-of-England-warns-growth-will-flat-line-in-next-three-months.html

Guardian.co.uk
The rising value of the Swiss franc has catapulted the wealth of the average person in Switzerland to more than $500,000 (£320,000) – a first for any country – making residents the richest on the planet, according to the investment bank Credit Suisse. Swiss fortunes in 2011 have more than doubled since 2000 in dollar terms, though almost all of that gain has been due to the Swiss franc’s relentless appreciation. In Swiss franc terms, however, the increase in wealth has been modest. Last month the Swiss government shocked the markets by pegging its currency to the euro to temper its overheating economy.

Smh.com.au
Investors trying to divine the direction of the world economy have a Chinese puzzle to solve: if China is the global growth dynamo, how come its equity markets are among the worst performing? China’s growth may be slowing, but its 9.1 per cent third-quarter growth performance easily eclipses that of other major economies, with the US slowing and the euro zone looks like tipping back into recession.http://www.smh.com.au/business/china-debt-bubble-worries-investors-20111020-1m8u8.html#ixzz1bIR6RDc4

Oil dropped a second day as Europe struggled to tame its debt crisis and the Federal Reserve said companies were increasingly pessimistic about the US economy, stoking speculation commodities demand may falter. Brent’s premium to New York prices widened. December futures fell as much as 0.6 per cent, extending yesterday’s 2.5 per cent slump. US fuel use fell 2.2 per cent to the lowest since May last week while crude stockpiles shrank, the Energy Department said. A French-German split over Europe’s rescue strategy emerged as finance ministers prepare to meet tomorrow and the Fed said yesterday that US companies reported more doubt about the strength of the nation’s recovery. http://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/oil-slips-a-second-day-on-europe-outlook-20111020-1m8oh.html#ixzz1bIRFH6sQ

Straitstimes.com
A report by Swiss bank Credit Suisse predicts that total household wealth worldwide will rise 50 per cent in the next five years to US$345 trillion (S$437 trillion) from $231 trillion today. The bank’s second annual Global Wealth Report also predicts that on average each adult on the planet will have a net worth of $70,700 in 2016, up 40 per cent from 2011. The report released on Wednesday suggests China will replace Japan as the second-wealthiest country in the world by 2016. http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Money/Story/STIStory_725258.html

Xinhuanet.com
Foreign banks in China are still fighting hard to define their role in the Chinese market and expand their operations 10 years after China joined the World Trade organisation, said analysts. “Foreign banks are losing market share while domestic banks are gaining competitiveness. Moreover, foreign banks are still not yet free from the pressures of the global financial crisis,” said Johnson Chng, head of financial services for Bain &Co in Greater China. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-10/20/c_131202001.htm

EU investment in China up to October dropped, due mainly to a massive cut in September caused by the euro zone debt crisis, the Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday. But officials and experts dismissed any suggestion that global confidence in the world’s second-largest economy has been shaken. Investment from the 27-nation bloc dropped 1.8 per cent year-on-year to $4.18 billion for the January-September period. However, for the eight months to September it had actually surged 3.28 per cent to $4.56 billion. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-10/20/c_131201379.htm

Chile’s Central Bank President Jose de Gregorio said Wednesday the bank’s reference interest rate will not surpass the current level of 5.25 per cent despite the negative impacts from the world economic crisis. De Gregorio said Chile’s economic development is still suffering from the adverse effects of the ongoing global economic slowdown. Yet the country is prepared to withstand future unfavorable economic scenarios thanks to its fiscal and monetary policies and the lessons it learned from the 2008 global financial crisis and the 2010 earthquake, he said.http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/business/2011-10/20/c_131201945.htm

Asia Pacific has emerged as the key contributor of global wealth growth, accounting for 36 per cent of all global wealth creation since 2000, and 54 per cent since January 2010, according to a global wealth report released on Wednesday by the Credit Suisse Research Institute. Emerging markets remain the main wealth growth engine, with the fastest growth seen in Latin America, Africa and Asia, said the report, which defines wealth as the value of financial assets and non-financial assets (mainly real estate), minus household debt. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/business/2011-10/19/c_131201105.htm

The European Commission issued a monitoring report claiming lack of progress in reducing trade barriers within the group of G20 countries and claiming they have to do more to stick to their initial commitment. The report cited 424 restrictive measures to open trade conducted by EU’s trading partners since the start of the Commission’s monitoring in October 2008, in which 131 have been introduced in the past 12 months, while only 40 were removed. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/business/2011-10/19/c_131201037.htm

Businesses in Singapore are cutting their hiring expectations for the next few months amid the uncertain global environment, a latest survey showed. About 42 per cent of company executives expect to hire more people, down from 56 per cent three months ago, according to the results of the survey released on Wednesday by human resources firm Hudson. The survey of 450 executives showed that financial services were the worst hit. One in three financial firms said they will hire, while 13 per cent of them said they plan to cut jobs. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/business/2011-10/19/c_131201037.htm

CS.com.cn
The Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on Wednesday warned of a “quite grim situation” for the country’s foreign trade as new global uncertainties weigh on the world’s second largest economy. “The import and export situation will be quite grim in the fourth quarter of this year and next year, or at least in the first quarter of next year,” said MOC spokesman Shen Danyang at a press conference. He attributed the prospect to changes in the domestic and foreign economic environment, “especially increasing instabilities and uncertainties that have affected China’s foreign trade in recent few months.” China’s exports slowed to 17.1 per cent year-on-year growth in September from 24.5-per cent growth in August, according to customs figures. http://www.cs.com.cn/english/ei/201110/t20111020_3094471.html

Thehindu.com
Without assigning any specific numbers, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday indicated that even as the country’s long-term economic indicators remain robust, the targets set for overall growth and fiscal deficit for the current fiscal were unlikely to be met in the wake of the global financial turbulence. In a candid overview of the state of the economy at the ‘Economic Editors’ Conference’, Mr. Mukherjee admitted that the ongoing global turmoil and consequent slowdown would impact the country’s growth, thwart measures to control inflation and thereby pose a challenge to adhering to the fiscal deficit target. http://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/article2551321.ece

The textile and apparel trade between India and the US is not entirely a one-way street, as is generally believed. India has been at the top of the list of fastest growing export markets for American apparel and textile products during the first eight months of this year. Ironically, this is at a time when the US industry is reeling under the impact of a continuing downturn and the US textile and apparel industry is severely cramped by its lack of competitiveness. Data from the US Department of Commerce show that during the first eight months of 2011 textile and apparel exports to India went up 30 per cent, though the total value of the exported articles is relatively small at $164 million. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/article2552048.ece?homepage=true

Themoscowtimes.com
Retail sales jumped the most since October 2008 last month as unemployment fell to a more than three-year low, showing that consumer demand may help revive the stalling economy. Sales rose 9.2 per cent from a year earlier after a 7.8 per cent gain in August, the State Statistics Service said Wednesday in a statement. Real wages advanced 6.2 per cent, the fastest this year. Economists had forecast an 8.5 per cent increase in retail sales and a 4.7 per cent gain in wages, according to the median estimates of two Bloomberg surveys. Inflation eased last month and will not exceed 7 per cent this year, the lowest rate since 1991, according to the Central Bank. That is bolstering consumers, even as exports suffer amid a weaker global economy and the euro region’s debt crisis. Consumers are boosting spending by taking out loans and tapping savings, according to Vladimir Tikhomirov, chief economist at Otkritie Capital. http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/retail-sales-up-92-per cent/445824.html

Fin24.com
Johannesburg – South Africa’s consumer spending recovery picked up pace in August and inflation quickened slightly more than expected in September, lessening the chance of an interest rate cut that some analysts have been calling for. The Reserve Bank has left interest rates unchanged at 30-year lows this year, after cutting by 650 basis points in the two years to the end of 2010. With the economic recovery losing momentum in the second quarter, some market players have said further monetary policy loosening could not be ruled out. http://www.fin24.com/Economy/CPI-retail-sales-data-dim-rate-cut-hopes-20111019

Tehrantimes.com
The organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries corrected its data on the ranking of major oil exporters within the organisation and placed Iran as the second largest exporter next to Saudi Arabia, Iran’s OPEC governor said here on Wednesday. By exporting 2.583 million barrels of oil per day, Iran stood above Nigeria as the second largest oil exporter in OPEC in 2010, Mohammad-Ali Khatibi told Shana news agency. In its latest annual statistical bulletin, OPEC had put Nigeria ahead of Iran in regard to export of oil in 2010. The issue was strongly reacted by Iranian officials who called that report ‘ambiguous’. In July, Khatibi said Iranian experts had found ambiguities in some of the figures in the OPEC report and thus the experts “did not confirm Nigeria’s export increase”. “OPEC rationing is based on production, not export, and Iran still holds the second-largest OPEC producer status and no change has happened in this regard,” said Khatibi. http://www.tehrantimes.com/index.php/economy-and-business/3738-opec-corrects-data-names-iran-as-second-oil-exporter

Thetrader.se
On October 19, 2011, the stock ENV went$9.48 to$0.02 in1 second and then quickly recovered in pre-market trading. This is something the public has been told can no longer happen with the improvements made since the Flash Crash of May 6, 2010. Apparently, it can happen and as shown below, it was clearly an algorithm that took the price to almost zero in just one split second. While the 253 errant trades were later canceled, it is painfully obvious that lurking algos are still ready, willing and able to bring the price of a stock to zero if given the chance. Perhaps the “improvements” that have made should be implemented during all hours a stock can trade. http://www.thetrader.se/2011/10/19/hft-is-this-still-possible/